Laundry Room Reveal

By Kate Riley • May 24, 2010

There are three reasons I’ve never liked our laundry room.

One. The original contractor/builder of our house picked out the cabinets when this honey tone wood was still popular last decade. They’re very good quality cabinets, but I have not been fond of the color for, oh, ever.

Two. One of the cabinets in our laundry room housed our very old indoor cat’s litter box. Sadly, we had to have our kitty put down a few months ago due to severe illness, but the good news is the cat box odor has finally left the premises.

Three. Laundry is my least favorite household task. I confess I do love the smell of fresh clean laundry, I just never wanted to be in the laundry room for reasons One and Two, and I so I would get lazy with this chore and tend to put it off until it got out of control.

I am happy to say I no longer have those excuses because of this new and improved space! Here’s what the room looked like last week. Pretty bland, right ?

Before:

But here is my laundry room now !

Oooh la la, I am so in love !!!

I think I will really enjoy doing laundry from now on !

A year ago, the room was even worse ! We had these hand me down machines that were really old.

We’d already had them repaired too many times. When the washer’s motor burnt out for the second time in six months we finally had to break the bad news to the washer – hit the curb loser ! Then we sold this dryer on Craigslist for $50 bucks.

We decided to invest in some front loaders and totally scored because my dad worked for GE so he hooked us up with a GE Profile washer and dryer at a discount price.

Can you say happy dance ?

Hello you two gorgeous machines.

These machines are totally amazing compared to their predecessors. The washer uses like three or maybe four drops of water to clean an entire load, and then the dryer reads the washer’s mind and knows just how much time to dry based on weight. They are so wicked smart and efficient, it kills me.

I have only one criticism. They really need to have little robot arms so that I could just hand the clothes to them and they’d do it all for me: wash, dry and fold. Could someone really smart invent that please ? Little robot arms on washers and dryers ? I’ll buy !

The inspiration for the colors in here was my tiny collection of sea glass. I love the blues, greens, and whites together so I used those shades for all the colors in here.

Do you love that basket for all the single socks ?

Here’s the mate that holds soap, bleach and softener.

Upper Cabinets Before:

And After:

More Blah Before:

Aahh After !

These white laminate countertops are in perfect shape, so I saw no need to replace them. I actually like neutral laminate countertops with a rounded edge. Really, I do ! They’re so easy to clean and no grout lines !

I couldn’t find any art I liked, so then I found these zinnia like stepping stones, spray painted them, and hung them on the wall.

Just pretty and playful enough to motivate me !

I love how the floral stepping stones play off the fabric in this shade. I absolutely adore this fabric and the grosgrain ribbon trim – all the colors that are perfect for this space. I’ll publish the ‘how to’ on the shade soon !

Oh yes I did hang a flirty chandelier in my laundry room.

I know for a fact its presence will make folding clothes less mundane.

So there’s the grand tour of my 8’ x 8’ new and improved laundry room !

Next time, I’ll give the full breakdown on all the projects that went into this makeover, including paint colors and a source guide on all the extras . . .

208 comments

Love love love it! The colors are perfect and I love the details you picked out (the chandi is too cute!) But my favorite thing is the shelf you built above your machines and under the cabinets – we just got new high efficiency ones and it has made the tiny wire shelf up above them totally unusable because I can’t reach it now with the height of the machine! But your shelf is perfect for using that wasted space. Love it!

I love your laundry room! It inspires me to do something with my outdated one. My washer and dryer are 20 years old this month (shhh, they need to last a little longer. Daughter goes to college this fall!). But I am definately going with front loaders when I have to get new.

Kate,
I LOVE this! My favorite part is the chandelier. I always have laundry room envy when I see people who have ginormous laundry/mudrooms-but you did so much with the space you have-you totally inspired me. I hear you on the litter box-we have 3 indoor cats-so the laundry room is never the pristine, clean-laundry-smelling spot I would like!

I hope it has a lock on the inside of the room so you can spend some undisturbed quality time in your new laundry spa. The tranquil colors that accent the room are a perfect choice! How lucky are you to have a window in your laundry room!!!

I LOVE it! I’m a sucker for the colors of the sea, so this was right up my alley. I do love the drying rack too…I’ll have to go read how you did that. Aahh, this makes me want to redo the laundry room! No time for that just yet, though. Have a great day!

What a difference paint makes! I’m loving the shelf above your machines and your chandelier! Is that a bench in there? What do you store in there? Recently I redid my laundry and it does make it so much easier to do that ugly job when your room is fun!

Can I be jealous of a laundry room???? I find myself head over heals in love ….. You did a fabulous job…. I have to say the chandelier is the icing on the cake! Love you colors scheme as well. Enjoy it!

WOW! I’ve been thinking about painting my cabinets white (they are the same color as your “before” picture) and I think you’ve sold me! Can you tell us a little bit more about how you painted the cabinets? Did you use a sealer? A brush? Can you come over and help me paint mine? :)

Your new laundry room looks absolutely divine!! Great color inspiration from the sea glass. I love the chandelier and the fabric on the window….it makes the room look so very pretty! Amazing job in making your space a fabulous place! xo

I love that you posted this. I am always looking for laundry rooms on decor websites/blogs, because I’m still trying to figure out what to do with ours, and they seem to be one of those ‘forgotten’ spaces no one cares about, maybe because half the time they are in the garage.

I like the beachy colors you picked out, and that it would be easy enough to switch out them out with something else if you eventually get bored of it. Lovely, as always.

Laundry room envy here, mine is in the unfinished part of our basement, yuck. Love, love, love the Lonely Sock basket!!! I was just searching for sock mates this weekend and gave up in frustration. Could the robot tell us where the missing socks go too?

just beautiful!! so bright and airy, now!
and i must add that i am unbelievably jealous of your space – we have the TINIEST laundry room ever, hence the reason our clean laundry is always piled up on our living room sofa.

I have those exact cabinets in my kitchen. Every once in a while I entertain the possibility of painting them…. right now is one of those whiles. I’m so jealous of you lucky homeowners who have an actual LAUNDRY ROOM. All we have is a tiny closet in the guest bath. How I loathe that tiny closet! But it can’t be helped. I’ll just have to close my eyes (figuratively) and pretend I’m in your lovely, lovely laundry from now own. :)

Looks great…Can you post how you made the delicate drying rack? I’m sure it’s very simple…but I need directions. This room makes me want to get a new washer and dryer…redo my laundry room and go to the beach….because of the beautiful colors.

Gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous! I love the beachy feel of the room. Makes you think you’ve taken a vacation…to do your laundry. :) I love all the cabinets and shelves. I have to find a way to work around my water heater, breaker box and an ill-positioned window to create a laundry vacation spot in my house…but I’m determined to do it. Thanks for another inspiring post!!!

I’m so jealous. My ‘laundry room’ is in the corner of our garage. I usually have to crawl over my hubby’s welder, tubing bender, scrap metal and a ’48 Ford truck cab just to get to the washing machine. No wonder I hate laundry as much as you did. Hopefully someday I’ll have an 8×8 to decorate. Btw, I just realized our master bath is 8×5…seriously, what were they thinking when they built this house???

This is just beautiful, Kate! I am really interested to hear about the cabinet painting. I’m still hunkering to have my oak kitchen cabinets painted, but I’m dreading removing doors and drawers to do it. Maybe I’ll feel more inclined after reading your post on that! Love the shade and its fabric, too.

I think I would like to just come and sit in your laundry room. It is THAT pretty! ;) Only Centsational Girl could make laundry look like fun. Can’t wait to see how you made that fab shade! Two thumbs up, friend!

WOW WOW WOW! A-MAZ-ING what a bit of paint and color can do for a room. love this! thanks for the great ideas. my laundry room is on the to do list in countdown….4 days (plus the weekend) when hubs is officially retired! woo hoo….honey do list, here we come!

Kate’s rockin’ the paint again!! What a transformation a gallon a good white can hold! And the trim at the top was icing! Well, the knobs too. I never could understand what the appeal of knob-less was? Cost savings is overrated leaving those off! The stripe fabric on the wall looks great, curious about how you have it hang there? It looks kind of free hanging? Well done! OK, now get something dirty so you can wash it! It think I’d move my computer into that space, to just be able to hang out there! GOLD STAR for you!

I’ve been following you for a while. I’ve even emailed you for suggestions. You are so crafty and brilliant. I’ve noticed there’s a color theme through out your home, which makes it feel cool and relaxing. Do you mind sharing those colors?

Omigosh Kate you ROCK! That looks incredible!!!!!!! I love me some beach glass too and all the colors that you used go so well together. I have to know something though….that shade….that fabric…YOU MUST TELL ME HOW TO COPY YOU! We just moved into our new place and our bedroom windows have a large dresser in front of them which makes shades a necessity instead of long drapes…so I want to use YOUR shades for them and hang dummy panels to the outside of the dresser on the sides of the window. Can’t wait for the tutorial!!!!!! Great job!!!

That is my dream laundry room. Really. My laundry “room” is the unfinished part of the basement, which I share with the cat, the cat box, and the storage. I’ll just keep looking at your photos & dream. :)

I would have your “before” laundry room any day (my laundry room is in the garage – ugh) but the new and improved laundry room is gorgeous. Yes, even I would look forward to doing laundry in your space. And I will say it again, where do you find the time??

Your laundry room is just gorgeous. I love the white cabinets. I so agree that a pretty laundry does make doing the chore a lot easier. I don’t mind my laundry room at all since I decorated it. Hugs, Marty

wow! just incredible. can’t wait to find out how you did the cabinets. everything is just lovely. i’ve begun redecorating my bathroom with this same color scheme, also inspired by sea glass and everything beachy!

It’s gorgeous! Can I just live in there for a while – I’ll even do the laundry for you. I’ll be your own personal human robot! Man, you get some great light in there. I’ll make sure to bring my own sea glass collection, too! :)

Beautiful, Stunning, Gorgeous…I am left in awe, as usual. The blue with the white is absolutely fun and inviting. I wouldn’t want to leave my laundry room if it looked like this. I have been trying to come up with a fix for my “blah” laundry room and I think I know what the problem is. I need a fun drying rack (like yours) and a folding station, oh and a door to close it off from the rest of the house when it looks terrible. Let’s be honest…mine looks dreadful more often then not.

OHMYGOSH. So jealous of your “after”. Heck, I’m even jealous of your “before”. My “laundry room” for lack of a better word is a dark, dirty corner of an even darker, dirtier garage. Concrete floors, walls half covered in 70’s paneling and black papered drywall. (Where do you even GET drywall backed with black paper?) The other half bare studs which are open and backed the wooden cladding OUTSIDE the garage. You can’t even get there from inside, you have to trudge through the backyard.

And the piece de resistance? My Washer/Dryer are topped by a shelf my grandfather rigged up out of old 2x4s and an appropriated (read: stolen) political campaign sign from the 70s.

Oh, yeah, and did I mention the hot water heater on a table right NEXT to the washer/dryer? Truly lovely.

So appreciate what you have. And even appreciate what you had before!!!! Some of us aren’t just dreading doing laundry, some of are actually AFRAID to go do laundry….

As an apartment dweller who currently shares a positively prehistoric coin-op washer and dryer with seven other apartments, this post made me swoon. Gorgeous and functional as always, Kate! Bravo! I can’t wait for the days when I won’t have to hoard all my quarters!

You are a genious Kate!! LOOOOVE it!! I adore your color scheme…and the lonely socks basket is perfect…it’s like a spa where you wash clothes…oops, I mean where robot-armed washing machines wash clothes. LOL!

Are your cabinets and walls the same white? I have been wanting to tranform my laundry but can’t decide what I want to do in there. I wish I had gone with white front loaders instead of red. It has made things harder!!!

So very lovely. I really like the colors you picked out, oh and the fabric for the roman shades, and the chandler, and the painted cabinets – – OK there isn’t a single thing I don’t like! Beautiful job!

Oh, Darlin’, your laundry room is smokin’! I love it. What a difference your little touch has made. The painted cabinets are so pretty painted white! Love your accent color and your new machines are beautiful! I’m not jealous, no no Nannette…well, maybe a little bit! :)
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

What a beautiful room! I love the Lonely Sock basket, I have had a sad little cardboard box for years that says “Lonely Sock Club” on it, but now I think I may have to upgrade to something prettier like yours. Well done!

What a great make-over. Everything looks great, love the color choices. I am so jealous of your washer/dryer, mine are still in good shape, so I don’t have any excuse to get new ones, but I may have to steal some of your other ideas.

LOVVVVE this space!!! Love even more the painted white cabinets!! How do you paint them so quickly and effortlessly (or it seems, anyway)!?? Seriously! Write a post on how to paint cabinets, pleeeease? Do you do the inside, too? I need the step-by-step! :)

I have the same color cabinets in my kitchen. I want to light them on fire. Sadly I don’t think a new pretty kitchen will rise from the ashes like the Phoenix. Nice to know I can paint them though.

I have an HE washing machine too. Does your washer’s final spin cycle shake the whole machine? I had nice pretty things (OK they were bobbleheads) that rumbled off the washer during the spin cycle and broke. One of the things I chose the HE washer and dryer for was the flat top so I could put stuff on it.

Just lovely!! So bright and cheery! Can’t help but feel better when you’re stuck in there doing laundry I bet!
Love your “lonely sock” liner…very clever. I too, have a lonely sock basket…mine, sadly, is much bigger ;)

I can’t wait to see you did those shades with the ribbon. My husband and I have a craftsman bungalow in Washington, and I’ve wanted to do something like that in 2 of the windows.
The laundry room is just beautiful. If mine looked like that, I would probably do a better job keeping up with the laundry :)

This weekend the hubs and I made a 3 page list of projects for our soon to be house, the laundry room (read: closet) was not even on the list. Thanks for reminding me of that oversight. I’m actually looking forward to the challenge of developing the space.

I love the way it came out. I can’t wait to add cabinets to my laundry room. It seems to be at the very bottom of our list, though.

I also have a basket for lonely socks. I have been doing it for years. Works great! Since I fold in my laundry room, when the socks don’t have a match, they go in the basket. For the most part, they end up with their mate at a later date.

Your makeover is so beautiful. I love the wall color, which I know was there before, but now is much more restful and calming with the white cabinetry. I just finished a major remodel on our family bathroom and there is nothing left in the budget to help the dark and dated laundry room. I am thinking of painting it a bluish color like BM-Silver Marlin and then repainting the horrible MDG cabinets and replacing the doors with shutter doors to freshen it up. Thanks for the inspiration. I am also keen to see how you made the roman shade as I need one for my kitchen too.

Yesss, dressing up the laundry room really makes a difference. I painted mine about two years ago and made it pretty, the only problem is that half of that space is where my husband keeps his tools – so…..yeah.

WOW! Great space. You’ve got quite a few comments on this little makeover. :)

I’m mostly interested in how you put up that chandy. I want to put a chandy in my master bath, in the place where a can ceiling light currently exists. Is this even possible? Maybe you’ve featured something like this on your blog before? If you ever have time to write about how to install chandeliers I’d be SUPER SUPER happy and grateful. :)

Oh, those sea glass colors are gorgeous. Exactly what I’ve been dreaming of for a spa like master bedroom :) I adore that drying rack, the stripey sea glass colors on the wall beneath the cabinets and your cute baskets!

Wow! That transformation is enough to make me want to do some laundry. Seriously…well done. Your laundry room is a breath of fresh air & motivates me to tackle mine. (It’s primed & has been that way since we moved into our house 3ish years ago….I am so embarrassed to admit that. Oh well. ;) Great job!!!!

I LOVE your laundry room! I have a new house & designed my laundry room with the space alloted to me so it’s new & nice but I have yet to pizzaz it up (lots of ideas though). I just want to say that I am loving your chandilier idea… I am mom to four little boys and always looking for a room or two to ‘feminize’ – other than my craft room, I think the laudry room is option #2 :) Well done & I would love to see some of your project ‘recipes’, especially the drying rack! I have a perfect spot for one & currently use the bonus room couch to drape everything on! I seriously adore your lonely socks basket too – how perfect :)

Gasp * Sigh * Tear. It’s awesome. What a beautiful room! Love the colors and the vibe. What a clean, bright, refreshing space! Super impressed and very curious what process you used for the cabinets. Amazing work and fabulous finished product!

I LOVE this laundry room!! It is just beautiful. :) MY LR is also home to the furnace and water heater… totally unfinished – pipes and ducts everywhere, but it has cabinets and a counter. So, it works.. but will never be pretty. Boo.

Thanks for coming and linking your laundry room project up! Painting the cabinets white made a huge difference! And I love the “lonely sock” basket and the zinnia wall hangings. Gorgeous! I just recently redid my laundry room – http://www.centsiblesavings.com/2010/06/decor-on-dime-laundry-room-makeover.html. But I would still love to add a cute chandelier – have my eyes peeled at Goodwill and yardsales for one I can transform.

I absolutely <3 your blog! keeps me entertained for hours! my project list just keeps getting longer with all these great ideas!

I have been looking for a tutorial for a while now on the roman shades – the ones in your laundry room look great! have you posted the tutorial on it yet? I cant seem to find it, but you mention it in the laundry room reveal – any tips for a newbie seamstress?

Just found your blog — love it and LOVE this laundry room makeover. I’m finishing up an office re-do over Labor Day weekend, and I think the laundry room is going to be next. Thanks for sharing it with us!!

Hello, I'm Kate! I'm a renovator, decorator, and do-it-yourselfer who writes daily about great interior design and smart home improvement. Welcome to the place where I share my advice and adventures in decorating and DIY projects! Learn more.